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Eastbay Memory Lane // Football 2000 Featuring Randy Moss

words // Brandon Richard

Tonight, the 94th season of NFL Football will kick off when the Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens visit the Denver Broncos in a rematch of last year’s AFC Championship Game.

We enter the season with several captivating storylines that will start to play out when Week 1 gets underway. Can Adrian Peterson complete his quest for 2,500 rushing yards? Does Megatron have a realistic shot at 2,000 receiving yards? Will Robert Griffin III look like the RG3 of old after offseason ACL surgery? How will Tom Brady and the New England Patriots fare after their tumultuous offseason? Will Tim Tebow get picked up by another team? Okay, maybe you’ve had enough of Tebow, but the others are legitimate headlines that we’ll be keeping our eyes on as the season progresses.

To celebrate the beginning of a new season, today’s Eastbay Memory Lane flashes back to August 2000, when the NFL was getting ready to embark on the first season of the millennium. The reigning Super Bowl champions were the St. Louis Rams, who were ironically unseated by the Ravens. Other 2000 highlights included Marshall Faulk winning MVP, Ray Lewis being named Defensive Player of the Year and a hard-hitting rookie by the name of Brian Urlacher claimed Defensive Player of the Year honors.

Covering this issue was a young Randy Moss, a wide receiver for the Minnesota Vikings that had his eyes set on all pass-catching records. Moss was part of the relatively new Jordan Brand and had his own signature cleat and sneaker — the Super Freak. The shrouded mid-top was created in two versions for Randy’s games on his home Metrodome turf and road games in grass.

Within the pages of this issue, several of the league’s biggest stars at the time representing their respective brands. Eddie George and John Lynch for adidas; Jevon Kearse and Joey Galloway for Reebok; Brett Favre, Champ Bailey and Warren Sapp for Nike; and of course Moss for Jordan.

Do you have memories of wearing any of this gear while suiting up for your team 13 years ago? Which of these cleats was your favorite? Share your stories below, along with your predictions for the new NFL season.